A Simple Suburban Murder Read Online Free PDF Page B

to be a normal family. But Phil refused. He'd say to me, 'Mom, don't pressure me to talk with Dad, or to talk about him.' The way he said it frightened me. It's as if he knew things that a child shouldn't know. I didn't dare press him for more."
    "Did he ever threaten his father?"
    "The time I told you about, when they fought, at the end, before running out of the house, Phil screamed at his dad, 'If you ever touch me again I'll kill you.' But I know he didn't mean it, Mr. Mason. He was angry. I made him apologize for that later."
    "Did he?"
    "Yes, I begged him to, for me." She gave me a forlorn look. "I wish he would come home."
    "Has he ever left before?"
    "Sometimes he's stayed out late, but he's never been gone overnight without telling me."
    "Do you know who he might stay with?"
    "No, we have no relatives here."
    "How about his friends? Who are they?"
    "None of his old friends called recently. I think he cut himself off from them. I know he used to be friends with Greg Davis, but he hasn't mentioned Greg in months."
    "He must be somewhere, Mrs. Evans, probably with some friend close by. Did he have any money, a savings account to draw on?"
    "No savings, but he's had a lot of money lately. I asked him where he got it. He wouldn't tell me."
    "Was he dealing drugs?"
    She gave me a fearful look. "I don't know. What do I do? You've got to help me, Mr. Mason."
    "I will if I can, but I think you should tell the police. They'll find out he's missing sooner or later. They have resources for finding someone."
    "I can't, not yet anyway. I just want him to come home."
    "I'll try to talk to some of the kids at school," I said. "I doubt if I can do much, but I'll do what I can."
    "Oh, thank you, Mr. Mason. Thank you."
    I found Scott waiting in the viewing room. In the short hallway leading outside I told him about my conversation with Mrs. Evans. "Her intensity at times worries me; she might be close to a breakdown." "Poor woman," Scott said, "but there probably isn't a lot we can do."
    "That's true," I said. "The police will find out Phil is missing soon enough. Still, I'm going to check it out."
    We left. From where we parked you could see down the alley behind the funeral home. As we neared the car I noticed a lone figure in the alley sitting on a stack of tires. I pointed him out to Scott. "I think that's the Evans boy, the eighth grader. I remember he used to wait for his brother after school when Phil was in my tutoring group. I think his name is Keith. Let's talk to him."
    The boy looked up briefly as we approached. He wore a suit and tie with no overcoat. He shivered in the chill November night.
    "Cold to be out tonight, son," I said.
    He peered up at me. "Who are you?" His voice was petulant.
    "Tom Mason. You're Keith Evans, aren't you? Phil's brother? I was his teacher."
    "Oh, yeah," he said without enthusiasm.
    "It's a little cold to be out without an overcoat."
    He shrugged.
    I sat down on the stack of tires next to him. He looked at me. For the first time he glanced at Scott. His eyes got very wide. "You're Scott Carpenter," he exclaimed.
    "I am." Scott sat down on the other side of him.
    "I know you," Keith said. "You came and talked at our sports banquet last year. You're cool."
    "Thank you," Scott said. "I'm also cold. Why don't we go inside?"
    "Not in there with all those people," Keith said.
    I suggested the fast-food restaurant across from the funeral home as an alternative. Keith agreed. Scott and I had coffee. Keith wolfed down enormous quantities of food. He had his dad's handsome face, with his hair longer than the fashion.
    "This is great," he said. He pointed to the massed food in front of him. "Whenever we go out with my family we can only order the least expensive thing on the menu."
    "How come you weren't inside?" I asked.
    "I couldn't stand all those adults slobbering over me. So I walked out." He stopped eating and stared wistfully across the street to the funeral home. He spoke softly. "I wanted to see